page_title: Carbon tetrachloride
section_title: Safety
hierarchical_section_title: Carbon tetrachloride / Safety
caption_attribution_description: English: Time series of atmospheric concentrations of carbon tetrachloride from 1908 to 2003. Mixing ratio concentrations are shown for the northern and southern hemispheres, and are expressed as parts per trillion (ppt). The data are plotted here using MATLAB. The published source of data for the figure is Walker, S. J., R. F. Weiss &amp; P. K. Salameh (2000) Reconstructed histories of the annual mean atmospheric mole fractions for the halocarbons CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC-113 and carbon tetrachloride. Journal of Geophysical Research 105, 14285—14296. The data (including error estimates and updates) are available online from the atmospheric halocarbon page at University of California.
context_page_description: Carbon tetrachloride, also known by many other names is an organic compound with the chemical formula CCl₄. It is a colourless liquid with a "sweet" smell that can be detected at low levels. It has practically no flammability at lower temperatures. It was formerly widely used in fire extinguishers, as a precursor to refrigerants and as a cleaning agent, but has since been phased out because of toxicity and safety concerns. Exposure to high concentrations of carbon tetrachloride can affect the central nervous system and degenerate the liver and kidneys. Prolonged exposure can be fatal.
context_section_description: Carbon tetrachloride is one of the most potent hepatotoxins (toxic to the liver), so much so that it is widely used in scientific research to evaluate hepatoprotective agents. Exposure to high concentrations of carbon tetrachloride (including vapor) can affect the central nervous system and degenerate the liver and kidneys, and prolonged exposure may lead to coma or death. Chronic exposure to carbon tetrachloride can cause liver and kidney damage and could result in cancer. See safety data sheets.
  The effects of carbon tetrachloride on human health and the environment have been assessed under REACH in 2012 in the context of the substance evaluation by France. Thereafter, further information has been requested from the registrants. Later this decision was reversed.
  In 2008, a study of common cleaning products found the presence of carbon tetrachloride in "very high concentrations" (up to 101 mg/m³) as a result of manufacturers' mixing of surfactants or soap with sodium hypochlorite (bleach).
  Carbon tetrachloride is also both ozone-depleting and a greenhouse gas. However, since 1992 its atmospheric concentrations have been in decline for the reasons described above (see also the atmospheric time-series figure). CCl₄ has an atmospheric lifetime of 85 years.
  At high temperatures in air, it decomposes or burns to produce poisonous phosgene.
caption: Time-series of atmospheric concentrations of CCl4 (Walker et al., 2000).
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